


Nii-Chan is on Your Side!

by nazuniichan



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, a little bit of subashino at the end but not enough to tag, i make my favs sad to cope!, nazuna being a big brother, post-akatsuki battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25532746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazuniichan/pseuds/nazuniichan
Summary: His little bunnies performed their hearts out. They sang confidently, danced almost every step perfectly. They were determined to make their nii-chan proud. And he was proud, so proud of them for not letting their heartbreak slow their performance. But… he knew this wouldn’t last.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	Nii-Chan is on Your Side!

On the night of Ra*bits debut live, Nazuna had expected a small crowd. The bar was low, knowing that without the funds for large-scale promotions they would be starting almost entirely from scratch. But, this… this wasn’t good. The auditorium was empty, excluding 3 people that he had seen before the live. Where was the crowd? He knew some of Akatsuki’s diehard fans wouldn’t bother sticking around to see them, but the crowd sounded overwhelming from backstage. It was like everyone had disappeared into thin air. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. He could see the devastation through his unitmates’ professional smiles, and it was heartbreaking. He felt like he may fall apart as well, if not for his ability to pack his emotions away just as Shu had taught him to. The show must go on.  
His little bunnies performed their hearts out. They sang confidently, danced almost every step perfectly. They were determined to make their nii-chan proud. And he was proud, so proud of them for not letting their heartbreak slow their performance. But… he knew this wouldn’t last. They weren’t fragile by any means, but his little bunnies weren’t made of steel. Gleaming in the spotlights, he saw tears begin to drip down Hajime’s cheeks. They should have been tears of happiness, knowing his hard work had paid off, hearing the crowd cheer for him and praise his performance. But they weren’t, and Nazuna cursed the student council for creating this system. He hadn’t performed since the fall of Valkyrie, he hadn’t known… He felt like he was partially to blame for putting them in this position.

The live ended, leaving nothing but 3 pairs of hands clapping and the sound of heavy breathing after the dance. They held their ending pose for 1… 2… 3 seconds, before he heard wracking sobs overtake Hajime. Nazuna turned quickly, rushing to his side just as Tomoya and Mitsuru did the same. Hajime fell to his knees and released the tears he had been holding in. He cried with his entire body, shuddering and wailing into his hands. His tears proved infectious, and Nazuna heard Tomoya and Mitsuru both start to sniffle as he dropped to his knees to hold Hajime close to him.  
Hajime tried to speak, to apologize between his sobs. “I’m sorry, nii-chan… I wish we were better... “ Nazuna took hold of his face, glaring at him with a stern expression even as his own tears threatened to spill over.  
“Hajime-chin, this is in no way your fault. You were so strong and I couwdn’t be pwoudew of you, of all 3 of you.” The steadiness of his tone fell away, allowing his speech impediment to come through as his tears finally flowed. He used one hand to hold Hajime’s head to his shoulder, and the other to gesture Mitsuru and Tomoya to sit with them.  
“Nii-chan, I…” Tomoya started, before being cut off by a wail from Mitsuru who threw himself into Nazuna’s open arm and curled up against him, leaving a wet spot of tears and snot as he cried. Tomoya finally relented, sinking to his knees and leaning his head against Mitsuru as his own tears came.  
Nazuna pulled them all closer, reaching his arms as far out as he could to hold his unitmates against him. They didn’t deserve this heartbreak, this disappointment. Things had come so easily to Valkyrie that Nazuna didn’t ever imagine that this could happen. His heart ached for his little rabbits, for their growing unit, and with the failure they had all endured. He took a shuddering breath, gathering his voice as best he could.  
“You all did so great tonight, and I’m so proud of your hard work. People missed out on our performance, and that’s their own fault, right? We’ll show them next time. I won’t let this be the end for us. Your nii-chan will make sure people see your shine.”  
His unitmates curled further into his arms, but their crying began to seem less fevered, less intense. Nazuna did his best to soothe them, stroking their hair as the group began to calm down and exhaustion washed over them. Even if no one had witnessed it, they danced their hearts out and were due for a good night’s rest. They had started to pull themselves back together, but Nazuna could feel Hajime falling asleep against his shoulder. He shook him gently and grabbed his hand. Nazuna stood to help his unitmates off the floor one at a time. He knew the physical support likely wasn’t needed, but he was determined to let them know their nii-chan would take care of them.  
It was dark outside of the auditorium, and the air was slightly frigid. The rabbits expected silence, seeing as most people had gone home, but…  
“SHINONON!!!” Akehoshi lept up from where he had been leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting for the group to come through the doors. “I wanted to go see you but Hokke said to give you space. Usually, I wouldn’t listen to Hokke, but… are you okay?”  
Hajime seemed startled by the sudden attention, but it definitely didn’t help when Akehoshi grabbed his hands and stared into his eyes with worry. Hajime’s face started to light up red. Nazuna looked between the two quizzically, back and forth between their faces until it clicked. He concealed a small smile at his realization.  
“Subaru-chin, could you do me a favor and walk Hajime-chin home? It would be a huge help with one less trip off of my hands.”  
“Of course! I’ll make sure Shinonon gets home safe and sound, leave it to me!” Hajime’s face only seemed to grow redder with embarrassment, but his soft smile told Nazuna that he had made the right choice. He walked over to Hajime, pushing his bangs back and lifting up on his tip-toes to plant a small kiss on his forehead.  
“You did great today, Hajime-chin. Get some rest.” Hajime nodded affirmatively before turning to see Akehoshi already a few feet away and jogging to catch up. Nazuna chuckled and turned to the other 2 boys with his hands on his hips. “Alright kiddos, let’s get going!” He pushed down his exhaustion, grabbing Tomoya and Mitsuru’s hands and dragging them down the sidewalk. Mitsuru tried to run ahead with a familiar dashu dashu and Tomoya scolded him for being so energetic after the events of this evening. Nazuna felt his heart refilling, knowing that he and his little rabbits could go on; That they couldn’t be broken so easily. He had hope for their future, and his own.

**Author's Note:**

> wow, this is my first work in a long while lol. i plan to write more in the future and get those creative juices flowing again! thank you for reading <3


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